


exotic

by Nerd_of_Camelot



Series: Borderlands Prompts/Requests [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Hybrids, Monster Timothy Lawrence, Monsters with human intelligence, One Word Prompts, Short, Unethical Experimentation, monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22935328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerd_of_Camelot/pseuds/Nerd_of_Camelot
Summary: exotic: originating in or characteristic of a distant, foreign country--Or: weird hybrid monster Timothy is bored as hell as a result of the scientists forgetting he has full sentience and finally catches a break.
Series: Borderlands Prompts/Requests [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648405
Kudos: 15





	exotic

Tim paced around his enclosure, tail feathers dragging across the grass and dirt behind him. To the scientists on watch he probably seemed agitated. He knew that, and admittedly? That was part of why he was doing it.

More than agitation and a desire to confuse the scientists, however, he was pacing because he was _bored._ The scientists were so certain he had everything he needed in the enclosure, but, well… They were idiots and very, very wrong. He couldn’t have been more bored if he tried. He wanted something to _do_ other than pacing around or climbing the taller plants in the enclosure.

Sure, the stalker parts of his DNA were fine with this, and the parts of his DNA that were some strange Terran animal called a ‘peacock’ didn’t seem much more bothered by the lack of anything engaging, but that was a given. And, really, the scientists were likely only taking those pieces into account, here. They liked to ignore (or some of them simply forgot) that one third of his DNA was human… Or at least it seemed that way.

One would think that if they remembered, they’d try a little harder to give him some sort of recreational activity. From what he understood, humans _hated_ being bored.

He flicked his tail, pawing at the dirt with his front paw, examining the toes that were nearly human fingers with the interest of someone who had nothing better to be doing with their time. He huffed out an annoyed sound and scraped some of the damp soil into a vague semblance of a ball.

He wondered if the scientists knew how much of the stuff they showed to him actually stuck around in his head. He wondered if they knew how much he understood. They probably didn’t, he reasoned, or they probably wouldn’t talk so freely when he could hear them.

Blue and green mismatched eyes flicked their gaze around, searching for the ‘hidden’ cameras in his enclosure, then up toward the sky high above him.

Another annoyed sound as he looked back at his lumpy mudball.

… It was better than nothing.

He batted it gently with his front right paw, sending it rolling off to the left, just far enough for him to bat at again with his opposite paw. He occupied himself like that for a little while before giving up and crushing the ball back into the soil. He’d give anything for something to actually _do._

Jack always gave him things to do. Jack seemed to be the only one who understood that he wasn’t just a dumb animal. Jack gave him puzzles and things to sort through. Jack would hand him ECHO pads and tell him where they went, and let him carry them to wherever that was and put them away.

Clearly Jack hadn’t told the scientists about any of that.

Tim wasn’t surprised, really. He’d want the idiots here to figure out his level of intelligence all by themselves. Tim just wished they’d hurry up with it. He’d been with them since they made him, however long ago that had been, and they really should have picked up on this stuff sooner.

“Timothy!” One of the scientists called, preceded by the hiss of his enclosure’s door sliding open.

He turned, lashing his tail in mild annoyance, and approached, sitting down in front of the door when he got there. Watching the scientist with an unimpressed glare that Jack would have been proud of, the experimental creature wrapped his tail around his legs and waited about as patiently as he could. Thankfully, this scientists was one of the few who seemed to be picking up on his higher level of functioning.

The scientist smiled at him, marking something on his clipboard. “Good morning, Tim. Would you care to accompany me for your weekly tests?”

 _No,_ Tim wanted to say, _I would not care to accompany you,_ but he knew that whatever would have come out of his mouth wouldn’t have been understood by the man. So instead of bothering trying to speak, he stood and flicked his tail to display he wasn’t really happy to have to do these tests yet again, but stepped out of the enclosure nonetheless.

He did like this scientist better than the others, he had to admit, because as well as speaking to him as if he understood, the man didn’t bother restraining him or leashing him when they walked through the facility. That was nice. He hated collars and leashes and having his beak tied shut. Walking freely was a freedom he didn’t often get outside of his enclosure, and a freedom he therefore cherished.

“Have you been given enough food?” The scientist asked as they walked, “I noticed there was less than usual today.”

Tim nodded his head, but lamented not being able to explain that they’d realized he wasn’t eating as much as they were giving him and were trying to conserve food by giving him meals closer to the amount he ate on average. He wished they’d make some sort of translating device for him. That’d be cool.

Maybe he should learn how to read and write so he could put the idea forward.

He made a derisive noise out loud at the thought. The likelihood of him being given the materials for that with no way of asking for them was _incredibly_ low. Nonexistent, really. Even Jack wouldn’t think to try and provide him with things of that nature.

Sucked.

Whatever, though.

“Is something bothering you, Tim?” The scientist raised a brow.

He shook his head, clicking his tongue boredly as they continued to walk.

To his surprise, the scientist clicked at him in return. He immediately clicked back, and they continued like that until they arrived in the usual testing room. It was the most rousing exchange Tim had ever had with any of the scientists. More interesting than sitting alone in his enclosure, too… Although being alone was better than them sticking him with the full-blooded Stalkers.

They’d done that once.

He was _not_ a fan.

Neither were the other Stalkers.

The tests were the same as usual, once they got started. Blood tests, taking his measurements and weight, checking the barbs on his front legs and talking about how weird it was that they’d grown there instead of on his tail, examining the inside of his beak and muttering about how weird it was seeing a beak on a mostly human face, sorting carefully through the feathers at the end of his tail and gushing about how beautiful they were… It was nothing he hadn’t gone through before.

However, when one of the scientists told him there were still more to do after he’d finished the usual ones, he cringed and wondered what in the hell they were going to do. Would it be an excrement sample? They’d done those before. Less pleasant than the blood tests. He hoped it wouldn’t be that.

But instead of bringing out the tools for that particular test, the scientists presented him with a puzzle much like the ones Jack liked to give him. He perked up immediately, tail feathers fanning out in delight. The scientists made note of the reaction before asking him if he could solve it. And he did―with haste.

They seemed rather impressed, but gave him another with the same request, this one more complicated.

He solved it as well.

He preened when they praised him for his intelligence―he couldn’t help it. He liked praise. But who didn’t?

After several more puzzles of varying types, including some sorting and memory ones, he was presented with what appeared to be a collar.

Given his past experience with collars he reared back onto his hind legs and watched the scientist holding it warily. She raised her free hand placatingly and told him to relax. That there wasn’t a leash to go with it, and that he wouldn’t be muzzled.

She explained, once he’d sat back down with his front paws on the ground, that the collar was a device Jack had ordered they work on specifically for Tim. It was a translator, of sorts, that would need some calibrating to work with whatever animal language it was he spoke.

Knowing this, he allowed her to put it on him.

Then, she said several words, asking him to repeat them back to her. He did so, and was rather startled to hear the words coming out in a voice similar to Jack’s instead of his own. He imagined there was a reason for that, though… A reason called ‘Jack’s Enormous Ego’.

It took several hours for the collar to calibrate completely, but once it had, he found himself laughing about it.

After all―Jack liked to call him exotic before, a mix of three creatures nature would never combine, but what was more exotic than a mix of those three creatures that could talk?

It was just funny to him, was all.


End file.
